Little dry out there.

Jonas Pilot · 05-26-2008, 05:45 PM

Hey CLA, any idea where we stand as far as precipitation compared to the last couple of years, especially for the last 2 months?

CanisLupusArctos · 05-26-2008, 11:59 PM

Total precip for this month so far has been 0.42 inch. This compares with a normal (for Concord) of 3.14 inches.

Last month actually came in above-normal at 3.56 inches (normal 2.91) despite being dry most of the time. This was due to the rain storm at the end of the month.

Comparison of either month to April or May of last year doesn't say much because both years had unusual rain events in the time period. In May 2006, we had the incredible floods resulting from several inches of rain around Mother's Day. In April 2007 we had an unusually stormy month which included the catastrophic Nor'Easter of April 15-17 and its resulting floods.

We are in a winter-like weather pattern influenced by a La Nina in the Pacific - a cooling of the sea surface temps. This wintertime pattern means a generally northwest flow for NH. It brings us dry Canadian continental air like we normally get in Dec-Feb. The dry air in winter is normally punctuated by the occasional snowstorm, which is what sticks in our memories. We've had a few chances for such storms (although rain, not snow) this month, but they've all gone out to sea south of us just like snowstorms often do. If this were winter, we'd be saying "I wonder why NY keeps getting all the snowstorms? But at least we're cold enough that the mountains can make snow."

In winter we don't notice the dryness as much because the only alternative is a winter like we just had. A dry day is just "a day without shoveling." Now it's springtime, we're still in that same weather pattern, and so we're noticing the dryness. Yesterday there was a fire weather warning (red flag) for all of the Boston area. We weren't quite dry enough for that, with showers in our forecast. But most of those were evaporating above ground level as they passed the lake.

05-26-2008, 05:45 PM	#1
Jonas Pilot Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wolfeboro, New Hampshire is my home, 24-7-365 Posts: 1,686 Thanks: 1,047 Thanked 336 Times in 189 Posts	Little dry out there. Hey CLA, any idea where we stand as far as precipitation compared to the last couple of years, especially for the last 2 months?

05-26-2008, 11:59 PM	#2
CanisLupusArctos Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Center Harbor Posts: 1,049 Thanks: 15 Thanked 472 Times in 107 Posts	Just a little dry... yes Total precip for this month so far has been 0.42 inch. This compares with a normal (for Concord) of 3.14 inches. Last month actually came in above-normal at 3.56 inches (normal 2.91) despite being dry most of the time. This was due to the rain storm at the end of the month. Comparison of either month to April or May of last year doesn't say much because both years had unusual rain events in the time period. In May 2006, we had the incredible floods resulting from several inches of rain around Mother's Day. In April 2007 we had an unusually stormy month which included the catastrophic Nor'Easter of April 15-17 and its resulting floods. We are in a winter-like weather pattern influenced by a La Nina in the Pacific - a cooling of the sea surface temps. This wintertime pattern means a generally northwest flow for NH. It brings us dry Canadian continental air like we normally get in Dec-Feb. The dry air in winter is normally punctuated by the occasional snowstorm, which is what sticks in our memories. We've had a few chances for such storms (although rain, not snow) this month, but they've all gone out to sea south of us just like snowstorms often do. If this were winter, we'd be saying "I wonder why NY keeps getting all the snowstorms? But at least we're cold enough that the mountains can make snow." In winter we don't notice the dryness as much because the only alternative is a winter like we just had. A dry day is just "a day without shoveling." Now it's springtime, we're still in that same weather pattern, and so we're noticing the dryness. Yesterday there was a fire weather warning (red flag) for all of the Boston area. We weren't quite dry enough for that, with showers in our forecast. But most of those were evaporating above ground level as they passed the lake.